The pace of past climate change vs. potential bird distributions and land use in the United States
Brooke L. Bateman, Anna M. Pidgeon, Volker C. Radeloff, Jeremy VanDerWal, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Stephen J. Vavrus, Patricia J. Heglund
2016, Global Change Biology (22) 1130-1144
Climate change may drastically alter patterns of species distributions and richness, but predicting future species patterns in occurrence is challenging. Significant shifts in distributions have already been observed, and understanding these recent changes can improve our understanding of potential future changes. We assessed how past climate change affected potential breeding...
Habitat selection by juvenile Mojave Desert tortoises
Brian D Todd, Brian J. Halstead, Lindsay P. Chiquoine, J. Mark Peaden, Kurt A. Buhlmann, Tracey D. Tuberville, Aleta Nafus
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 720-728
Growing pressure to develop public lands for renewable energy production places several protected species at increased risk of habitat loss. One example is the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a species often at the center of conflicts over public land development. For this species and others on public lands, a...
Groundwater quality, age, and susceptibility and vulnerability to nitrate contamination with linkages to land use and groundwater flow, Upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin, Colorado, 2013
Tristan P. Wellman, Michael G. Rupert
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5020
The Upper Black Squirrel Creek Basin is located about 25 kilometers east of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The primary aquifer is a productive section of unconsolidated deposits that overlies bedrock units of the Denver Basin and is a critical resource for local water needs, including irrigation, domestic, and commercial use. The...
Geologic map of the Sauvie Island quadrangle, Multnomah and Columbia Counties, Oregon, and Clark County, Washington
Russell C. Evarts, Jim O’Connor, Charles M. Cannon
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3349
Introduction The Sauvie Island 7.5' quadrangle is situated in the Puget-Willamette Lowland northwest of downtown Portland, Oreg. This lowland, which extends from Puget Sound to west-central Oregon, is a complex structural and topographic trough between the Coast Range and the Cascade Range. Since late Eocene time, the Cascade Range has been...
First documented case of snake fungal disease in a free-ranging wild snake in Louisiana
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, David E. Green, Jeffrey M. Lorch
2016, Southeastern Naturalist (15) 4-6
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is a recently documented mycotic disease characterized by scabs or crusty scales, subcutaneous nodules, abnormal molting, cloudiness of the eyes (not associated with molting), and localized thickening or crusting of the skin. SFD has been documented in many species in the Eastern and Midwestern United States...
Play-level distributions of estimates of recovery factors for a miscible carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery method used in oil reservoirs in the conterminous United States
Emil Attanasi, P.A. Freeman
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1239
In a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study, recovery-factor estimates were calculated by using a publicly available reservoir simulator (CO2 Prophet) to estimate how much oil might be recovered with the application of a miscible carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method to technically screened oil reservoirs located in onshore...
The “Anthropocene” epoch: Scientific decision or political statement?
Stanley C. Finney, Lucy E. Edwards
2016, GSA Today (26) 3-4
The proposal for the “Anthropocene” epoch as a formal unit of the geologic time scale has received extensive attention in scientific and public media. However, most articles on the Anthropocene misrepresent the nature of the units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, which is produced by the International Commission on Stratigraphy...
Application of hydrogeology and groundwater-age estimates to assess the travel time of groundwater at the site of a landfill to the Mahomet Aquifer, near Clinton, Illinois
Robert T. Kay, Paul M. Buszka
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5159
The U.S. Geological Survey used interpretations of hydrogeologic conditions and tritium-based groundwater age estimates to assess the travel time of groundwater at a landfill site near Clinton, Illinois (the “Clinton site”) where a chemical waste unit (CWU) was proposed to be within the Clinton landfill unit #3 (CLU#3). Glacial deposits...
Reevaluating the age of the Walden Creek Group and the kinematic evolution of the western Blue Ridge, southern Appalachians
J. Ryan Thigpen, Robert D. Hatcher Jr., Linda C. Kah, John E. Repetski
2016, American Journal of Science (316) 279-308
An integrated synthesis of existing datasets (detailed geologic mapping, geochronologic, paleontologic, geophysical) with new paleontologic and geochemical investigations of rocks previously interpreted as part of the Neoproterozoic Walden Creek Group in southeastern Tennessee suggest a necessary reevaluation of the kinematics and structural architecture of the Blue Ridge Foothills....
Reduced population variance in strontium isotope values informs domesticated turkey use at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA
Deanna N Grimstead, Amanda C Reynolds, Adam M Hudson, Nancy J Akins, Julio L. Betancourt
2016, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (23) 127-149
Traditionally strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) have been used as a sourcing tool in numerous archaeological artifact classes. The research presented here demonstrates that 87Sr/86Srbioapatite ratios also can be used at a population level to investigate the presence of domesticated animals and methods of management. The proposed methodology combines ecology, isotope geochemistry,...
Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding
Brett Poulin, George R. Aiken, Kathryn L. Nagy, Alain Manceau, David P. Krabbenhoft, Joseph N. Ryan
2016, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (176) 118-138
Riparian soils are an important environment in the transport of mercury in rivers and wetlands, but the biogeochemical factors controlling mercury dynamics under transient redox conditions in these soils are not well understood. Mercury release and transformations in the Oa and underlying A horizons of a contaminated riparian soil were...
Preliminary characterization of nitrogen and phosphorus in groundwater discharging to Lake Spokane, northeastern Washington, using stable nitrogen isotopes
Andrew S. Gendaszek, Stephen E. Cox, Andrew R. Spanjer
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1029
Lake Spokane, locally referred to as Long Lake, is a 24-mile-long section of the Spokane River impounded by Long Lake Dam that has, in recent decades, experienced water-quality problems associated with eutrophication. Consumption of oxygen by the decomposition of aquatic plants that have proliferated because of high nutrient concentrations has...
Structure of the Hat Creek graben region: Implications for the structure of the Hat Creek graben and transfer of right-lateral shear from the Walker Lane north of Lassen Peak, northern California, from gravity and magnetic anomalies
Victoria E. Langenheim, Robert C. Jachens, Michael A. Clynne, L.J. Patrick Muffler
2016, Geosphere (12) 790-808
Interpretation of magnetic and new gravity data provides constraints on the geometry of the Hat Creek Fault, the amount of right-lateral offset in the area between Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak, and confirmation of the influence of pre-existing structure on Quaternary faulting. Neogene volcanic rocks coincide with short-wavelength magnetic anomalies...
Statistical analysis and mapping of water levels in the Biscayne aquifer, water conservation areas, and Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2000–2009
Scott T. Prinos, Joann F. Dixon
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5005
Statistical analyses and maps representing mean, high, and low water-level conditions in the surface water and groundwater of Miami-Dade County were made by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, to help inform decisions necessary for urban planning and development. Sixteen...
Genetic diversity of Wolbachia endosymbionts in Culex quinquefasciatus from Hawai`i, Midway Atoll, and Samoa
Carter T. Atkinson, William Watcher-Weatherwax, Dennis A. LaPointe
2016, Technical Report HCSU-074
Incompatible insect techniques are potential methods for controlling Culex quinquefasciatus and avian disease transmission in Hawai‘i without the use of pesticides or genetically modified organisms. The approach is based on naturally occurring sperm-egg incompatibilities within the Culex pipiens complex that are controlled by different strains of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia...
Groundwater ages from the freshwater zone of the Edwards aquifer, Uvalde County, Texas—Insights into groundwater flow and recharge
Andrew G. Hunt, Gary P. Landis, Jason R. Faith
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5163
Tritium–helium-3 groundwater ages of the Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas were determined as part of a long-term study of groundwater flow and recharge in the Edwards and Trinity aquifers. These ages help to define groundwater residence times and to provide constraints for calibration of groundwater flow models. A suite of...
Arsenic in groundwater of Licking County, Ohio, 2012—Occurrence and relation to hydrogeology
Mary Ann Thomas
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5148
Arsenic concentrations were measured in samples from 168 domestic wells in Licking County, Ohio, to document arsenic concentrations in a wide variety of wells and to identify hydrogeologic factors associated with arsenic concentrations in groundwater. Elevated concentrations of arsenic (greater than 10.0 micrograms per liter [µg/L]) were detected in 12...
Toward a quantitative and empirical dissolved organic carbon budget for the Gulf of Maine, a semienclosed shelf sea
William Balch, Thomas G. Huntington, George R. Aiken, David Drapeau, Bruce Bowler, Laura Lubelczyk, Kenna D. Butler
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 268-292
A time series of organic carbon export from Gulf of Maine (GoM) watersheds was compared to a time series of biological, chemical, bio-optical, and hydrographic properties, measured across the GoM between Yarmouth, NS, Canada, and Portland, ME, U.S. Optical proxies were used to quantify the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and...
High-resolution seismic reflection imaging of growth folding and shallow faults beneath the Southern Puget Lowland, Washington State
Jackson K. Odum, William J. Stephenson, Thomas L. Pratt, Richard J. Blakely
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (100) 1710-1723
Marine seismic reflection data from southern Puget Sound, Washington, were collected to investigate the nature of shallow structures associated with the Tacoma fault zone and the Olympia structure. Growth folding and probable Holocene surface deformation were imaged within the Tacoma fault zone beneath Case and Carr Inlets. Shallow faults near...
Ecology and conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens in sand shinnery oak prairies
Blake A. Grisham, Jennifer C. Zavaleta, Adam C. Behney, Philip K. Borsdorf, Duane R. Lucia, Clint W. Boal, David A. Haukos
2016, Book chapter, Ecology and conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens
Sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) prairies are unique ecosystems endemic to sandy soils of eastern New Mexico, northwestern Texas, and western Oklahoma; the historic and current distribution of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) overlaps these prairie systems. Lesser Prairie-Chicken populations in sand shinnery oak prairies of the Southern Great Plains...
Mountains, glaciers, and mines—The geological story of the Blue River valley, Colorado, and its surrounding mountains
Karl S. Kellogg, Bruce Bryant, Ralph R. Shroba
2016, Circular 1400
This report describes, in a nontechnical style, the geologic history and mining activity in the Blue River region of Colorado, which includes all of Summit County. The geologic story begins with the formation of ancient basement rocks, as old as about 1700 million years, and continues with the deposition of...
The Laramide Caborca orogenic gold belt of northwestern Sonora, Mexico; white mica 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from gold-rich quartz veins
Aldo Izaguirre, Michael J. Kunk, Alexander Iriondo, Ryan J. McAleer, Juan Antonio Caballero-Martinez, Enrique Espinosa-Aramburu
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1008
Introduction This report contains reduced 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data from 63 hydrothermal white mica samples separated from orogenic gold-rich quartz veins in the Laramide Caborca orogenic gold belt (COGB) of northwestern Sonora, Mexico. The main objective of this report is to present the sample locations, 40Ar/39Ar experimental methodology, and 40Ar/39Ar isotopic data....
Upper Cretaceous and Lower Jurassic strata in shallow cores on the Chukchi Shelf, Arctic Alaska
David W. Houseknecht, William H. Craddock, Richard O. Lease
Julie A. Dumoulin, editor(s)
2016, Professional Paper 1814-C
Shallow cores collected in the 1980s on the Chukchi Shelf of western Arctic Alaska sampled pre-Cenozoic strata whose presence, age, and character are poorly known across the region. Five cores from the Herald Arch foreland contain Cenomanian to Coniacian strata, as documented by biostratigraphy, geochronology, and thermochronology. Shallow seismic reflection...
Modified method for estimating petroleum source-rock potential using wireline logs, with application to the Kingak Shale, Alaska North Slope
William A. Rouse, David W. Houseknecht
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5001
In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in three source rocks of the Alaska North Slope, including the lower part of the Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale. In order to identify organic shale potential in the absence of a...
American woodcock migratory connectivity as indicated by hydrogen isotopes
Daniel S. Sullins, Warren C. Conway, David A. Haukos, Keith A. Hobson, Leonard I Wassenaar, Christopher E. Comer, I-Kuai Hung
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 510-526
To identify factors contributing to the long-term decline of American woodcock, a holistic understanding of range-wide population connectivity throughout the annual cycle is needed. We used band recovery data and isotopic composition of primary (P1) and secondary (S13) feathers to estimate population sources and connectivity among natal, early fall, and...
